Local News

Hot Topics:

Announcements

GUEST OPINION: 'National defense' begins right here in Schaefferstown

By CONSTANTINOS E. "DINO" SCAROS

Updated:
09/03/2013 09:27:13 AM EDT

Many Americans - Republicans in particular - shudder at the thought of cutting national defense.

Actually, proposals to the defense budget are not even actual cuts; rather, they are reductions in the rate of increase. In other words, if the defense budget originally had been slotted for a 20 percent increase, and instead that is reduced to a 10 percent increase, the initiative is often mislabeled as a "cut." Imagine, then, the outrage that would unravel if changes to the defense budget involved actual cuts!

Yet these very same folks that would be at wit's end if our federal government were to cut defense spending seem to have very little to say about the matter when it comes to cutting defense right here at home: namely, the elimination of the police force in Heidelberg Township.

Granted, it is vital for the United States to maintain a strong defense in case of war. But how often does war occur, as compared to everyday crime? Is it not, then, even more vital that we maintain a strong local defense?

I cringe when I hear politicians say: "We can't afford another war." War should not be about dollars and cents: it requires careful analysis of the situation at hand, and if there appears to be no vital alternative, then war it should be - and money should be no object. Otherwise, it would be like saying: "I can't afford the life-saving operation that I need. I'll just die, instead."

Along those lines, we also cannot say: "We can't afford a police department," because that, too, should not be a matter of dollars and cents.

Advertisement

When I decided to run for Heidelberg Township Supervisor, it was for two main reasons: to restore a police force in the township, and to ensure that the concerns of the people - who, after all, are the ones in charge - are heard. I promised then, as I continue to promise now, that if elected, I would begin with a budget of zero dollars, and the first item I would add would be the restoration of the police force. Every other item would just have to compete for second place, third place, etc.

Much to my surprise, however, I discovered that the costs of the police force are still in the budget! In other words, even though we have no police, we have all paid for police! Yes, our tax dollars were collected for a police force, but not spent on one! That example certainly screams that the people need to be heard, doesn't it?

This is very simple, folks: You are the bosses. Your elected officials are your maids, your butlers, your housekeepers. Imagine, then, that you gave your housekeeper $100 to buy ground beef for a barbecue that you plan to have. You never see the $100 again, and there is no ground beef to be found anywhere in your house! Surely you'd have a problem with that, wouldn't you? Well, that's exactly what has happened to you, and me, regarding the police force for which we have paid.

So if that happened to you with the housekeeper and the beef, would you simply sit by idly, shrug your shoulders, and say: "There isn't anything I can do about it," or would you take action? I think we all know the answer to that.

Well, it's no different when it comes to your elected officials. You are no less their boss than you are boss over any of your other hired help. And that includes all of your elected officials, by the way: from your township supervisors to President Obama.

Do you think that we ought to return to the Middle Ages - when towns had no police forces, or electricity or indoor plumbing, for that matter - or will we remain a 21st century town, one that has all of the elements of a modern-day civilized society, including a police force? And even if you think that there shouldn't be a police force in Heidelberg, then I'm sure you certainly did not want to have paid for one!

Constantinos E. "Dino" Scaros is the Democratic nominee for a seat on the Board of Heidelberg Township Supervisors. He won the nomination by write-in while losing to William T. Cromleigh III for the Republican nomination.